Suspension of abortion service in Western Trust area 'unacceptable', says human rights organisation

A human rights organisation says it is 'wholly unacceptable' that vulnerable local women will be left unable to access abortion services.

It has emerged that the Western Trust will suspend its Early Medical Abortion Service (EMA) from 5pm today until further notice.  This will affect women in Derry and the wider Trust area.

Abortion regulations took effect in Northern Ireland in March 2020.

Since then, health trusts have been providing services, including an interim early medical abortion service to ensure access whilst services are commissioned.

This service has been facilitated through Informing Choices NI (ICNI) which acts as the Central Access Point.

This has enabled people across the North to contact a single telephone number to access information, pregnancy choices counselling and, when requested, referral into an early medical abortion service within Northern Ireland’s health trusts.

Earlier today, a statement was shared by ICNI, which says the Western Trust service had been run by a single doctor over the past year and is no longer sustainable.

It adds that other Trusts do not have the capacity to accept referrals from the Western Trust area.

ICNI says women will be forced to travel to England during a global health pandemic, to the south of Ireland where they will have to pay privately or to access medication outside the NHS.

Ruairi Rowen, Director of Advocacy and Policy at ICNI, says: "Yet again women in NI are faced with a postcode lottery in accessing vital reproductive healthcare.

"It is simply unacceptable that one year on from the abortion regulations taking effect that the Department of Health and NI Executive have not acted to commission these services and ensure that all women across NI have equal access to healthcare.

"Continuing to rely on ICNI and a small group of committed conscientious providers, is not a reasonable or sustainable solution and we are now witnessing the results of a lack of funding and poor workforce planning.

"While women from the Western Trust who are referred into this service up until 5pm today will still be able to access abortion locally, this will not be the case for those who ICNI speak with next week.

"The Secretary of State must now intervene to direct that abortion services are commissioned and put an end to this stop-start provision of healthcare."

A spokesperson for the Trust confirmed that the service has been suspended, saying: "The Western Health and Social Care Trust have had to temporarily pause the delivery of the Early Medical Abortion Service (EMA).  Referrals for this service can no longer be accepted from 5.00pm on Friday 23rd April 2021 until further notice.

"The Trust requires additional nursing and medical support in order to deliver this service and are actively exploring all options in respect of this. The Trust apologises for any concern this may cause and can assure the public that we are continuing to work towards minimising any disruption this will cause in the interim period.

"Further information will follow when available."

Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, condemned the failure of Northern Ireland’s Health Minister to commission abortion services which has 'again caused abortion provision to break down and is putting women in a vulnerable position'.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UK’s Northern Ireland campaign manager, adds: "It is wholly unacceptable that he continues to neglect the needs of both women and our healthcare service."